Management wants me to step up but I’m a born introvert. How can I do this?

2 weeks ago 3

Each week Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column Got a Minute? This week: directing introverts to become extroverted, reassigning regional management without consultation and moving on from teaching after burnout.

Even if you’re a natural introvert you can still be an effective leader.

The team I work in is made of introverts, including myself. There’s been a restructure and the new management wants us to step up and be more extroverted. How do you change the personality you’ve been born with to suit your workplace?

Please don’t change your personality to what someone else thinks a leader looks like. You certainly don’t need to become an extrovert to succeed as a leader. Being an introvert is not a deficit, it is simply a different way of operating. Some of the most effective leaders in the world (think Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft) have been described as introverts.

Stepping up does not mean you need to become the life of the party. It does mean taking on more responsibility, or being more proactive with changes that might need to be implemented. That can be done without needing to become someone different. The best teams are balanced teams with diverse personalities all working together to create positive outcomes.

Now that the restructure has happened, ask your boss what they would like to see from your team. Be proactive in suggesting ways your team can be more effective without needing individuals to entirely change who they are. Just asking questions and initiating this meeting with your boss is a sign of you stepping up.

I was hired by a global company to manage one region but shortly after starting I was reassigned to oversee an entirely different region I have no prior experience in. The change was made without consultation and I suspect it may have been based on my ethnicity rather than my skills. I now feel sidelined and stuck in a role I wasn’t hired for. Is this discrimination? What can I do?

The first red flag here is the fact any change was made without speaking to you first.

I can understand why you feel frustrated about the lack of communication, and it wouldn’t have really mattered what the change involved. You should have been consulted. It sounds like you have only just joined the company, so that makes this unilateral change even more baffling.

The fact you believe the change was based on your ethnicity is a whole new red flag. If true, that is a bias at work – conscious or unconscious. And irrespective of their reasons for the change, and whether your ethnicity has anything to do with it, it is now irrelevant. Trust has been broken and it needs to be repaired.

You need to have a conversation with your boss or HR about this change and ask for more information. Explain your concern about not being consulted and ask for their reasoning, especially given you were just hired believing you would be doing something quite different. You also have to ask, “Why me? Why this particular region?” Depending on their answer, you might want to share your concerns about having been allocated the region based purely on your ethnicity.

I’m a burnt-out high school teacher looking to change careers but I have no idea where to start looking.

Teachers have an incredibly demanding profession and the burnout you feel is real. You don’t need to have your future career mapped out but taking care of your mental health is going to put you in the best position to decide what comes next. Try to make sure you use whatever resources or time away from work you have available to really get yourself in the best position you can.

Remind yourself that you already have a huge range of skills that are transferable out of the classroom. Your first step is not necessarily to find the perfect next job but to become curious about where the skills you do have can add value outside of teaching. For example, I would expect teachers are great at public speaking and communicating with a wide range of people. Teachers are terrific at conflict resolution and negotiation, designing programs, time management, giving and receiving feedback and identifying creative solutions, among many other areas of expertise.

It is hard to know what kind of work you are passionate about but simply based on these skills, you could look for roles in corporate training or learning and development, not-for-profit organisations, project management roles or even communications roles.

To submit a question about work, careers or leadership, visit kirstinferguson.com/ask. You will not be asked to provide your name or any identifying information. Letters may be edited.

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.